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The world is full of unsolved problems. It is also full of problems for which solutions already exist, if we only leverage them. When we slow down for a minute, consider the available options, and more carefully assess the consequences of various modes of action, we have a better chance of directing our efforts where they ought to go–for the good of ourselves and the issues we face.

Matthew Cohen ’18 and Johnathan Bowes ’15 debate whether Puerto Rico should become the 51st state in the United States. Cohen urges us to question the previous votes in Puerto Rico as well as its tremendous debt while Bowes argues the US should respect the will of Puerto Ricans in whatever they choose.

Campus political groups gear up for election day

Campus political groups have been accelerating their get-out-the-vote and canvassing efforts, rallying supporters both on campus and out of state. Nearing the final week of the campaign, both the Stanford College Republicans and Stanford Democrats have sent students on canvassing trips in Nevada and are seeing increased enthusiasm as the Nov. 6 election draws nearer.

Because California is not going to be a competitive state in the presidential race, campus political groups have focused on phone banking to mobilize support elsewhere.

According to Nick Ahamed ’15, a neighborhood team leader for President Obama’s grassroots campaign, a group of about 50 Stanford Democrats have made around 18,000 phone calls to swing states for the November elections. The past two weekends, the Democrats have been calling from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. asking voters to support the president.

The Stanford College Republicans are phone banking as well, but have no information about how many Stanford students have been calling on behalf of Mitt Romney. Rather, the College Republicans connect interested students directly with campaigns, according to President Mary Ann Toman-Miller ’14.

Both political groups have their eyes on nearby Nevada, whose six electoral votes are important for both candidates’ White House aspirations. A group of Democrats spent the weekend working with Obama’s field office in Reno and will be returning this weekend. Ahamed estimates 30 students will be going to Reno with the Democrats on Friday.

Stanford Republicans have also facilitated volunteering with the Romney ground operation in Nevada. According to Winston Chang ’14, vice-president of the College Republicans, around 15 students traveled to Nevada last weekend and the same number will be campaigning for the Republican candidate this coming weekend.

While the top of the ticket is the focus for both groups’ campaigns, Stanford students have also been active in other races. Members of the Stanford Democrats have travelled to Stockton, Calif. to support the city council campaign of Michael Tubbs ’12 and organized people to phone bank for him.

According to Lamont, it is easier to get students energized for the presidential contest than for down-ballot races or referenda.

“At Stanford, the majority of students are not from California,” she said. “It’s a lot easier to get people involved with the presidential election than with state-specific issues.”

On campus, both the Stanford Democrats and College Republicans have been using policy events to engage the student body.

“We are trying to engage [students] through the issues by inviting speakers to address election topics on campus,” said Lindsay Lamont ’13, president of the Stanford Democrats. Last week the Democrats co-hosted a dinner and discussion with Lupe Rodriguez, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood San Mateo. Political Science Professor Gary Segura addressed the group Monday about the impact of the Latino vote.

The Stanford Review sponsored an event featuring Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate Jim Gray on Oct. 25 at the Graduate School of Business. The College Republicans hosted Bob Inglis, a former South Carolina congressman, who discussed environmental issues on Oct. 10. Difficulties in scheduling guests have hampered some of their event plans.

“Unfortunately [a lot of] Stanford professors are out travelling around the United States,” Chang said.

So far in the campaign, political groups have taken a low-key approach to rallying support. While, according to Toman-Miller, the College Republicans continue relying on “word-of-mouth,” the Democrats are ramping up their presence on campus in the week leading up to the election. They will be hosting a rally in White Plaza Nov. 2 in an attempt to revive the enthusiasm voters felt for Obama four years ago.

“[2008] was a lot more exciting of an election,” Ahamed said. “I don’t know the numbers, but [supporters in 2008] were doing two or three times the number of calls we’re doing now … some students feel frustrated with Obama.”

As the election nears, a sense of urgency has descended upon Democratic supporters, who logged 2,700 phone calls to voters last Thursday night alone, more than the entire quarter last spring.

Political organizations on the right are also sensing more urgency as Romney’s poll numbers have improved in the closing weeks of the campaign. Conservatives are confident that students will turn out to support Mitt Romney.

“There’s a lot more enthusiasm behind Romney than there was during the 2008 campaign, or even in 2010,” said Kyle Huwa ’13, president of the Stanford Conservative Society.

According to Chang, the mission of the College Republicans to translate that enthusiasm into increased turnout for conservative candidates.

“We get those people who are registered Republicans, who want to work on the campaign, [and] help them support Romney,” he said. “That’s our purpose.”

About Edward Ngai

Edward Ngai is a senior staff writer at The Stanford Daily. Previously, he has worked as a news desk editor, staff development editor and columnist. He was president and editor-in-chief of The Daily for Vol. 244 (2013-2014). Edward is a junior from Vancouver, Canada studying political science. This summer, he is the Daniel Pearl Memorial Intern at the Wall Street Journal.

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Carrying forward the interest in contemplation both at Windhover and during Contemplation by Design week, the Office for Religious life and HIP are collaborating to offer a labyrinth walking fundamentals [...]

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Carrying forward the interest in contemplation both at Windhover and during Contemplation by Design week, the Office for Religious life and HIP are collaborating to offer a labyrinth walking fundamentals workshop. This 2-session program will provide you with knowledge of the rich history and stress reduction and resilience-building benefits of the contemplative practice of labyrinth walking. Each session will begin in the classroom followed by a practicum of walking the Windhover labyrinth. Class will be held rain or shine. Please dress accordingly. Please note: registration required for this free class.

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COMFORT WOMEN WANTED brings to light the memory of 200,000 young women, referred to as “comfort women,” who were systematically exploited as sex slaves in Asia during World War II, and increases awareness of sexual violence against women during wartime. It is based on interviews with Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Indonesian, Filipino, and Dutch “comfort women” survivors and a former Japanese soldier from WWII conducted by the filmmaker, Chang-Jin Lee, a Korean-born visual artist from New York City.

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We are a social action VSO and bake challah bread on Thursdays at Hillel in the back building (across from the Haas Center). The proceeds this week go to MAZON: [...]

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We are a social action VSO and bake challah bread on Thursdays at Hillel in the back building (across from the Haas Center). The proceeds this week go to MAZON: a national non-profit working to end hunger among all faiths and backgrounds. We work with a variety of groups around campus, including social action groups, interfaith groups, and Greek life. Everyone is welcome to come join us in making challah.

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The Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics announces the second mini-course by Stanford physics faculty on recent fundamental advances in theoretical physics. The winter quarter's lectures will be by Professor Sean [...]

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The Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics announces the second mini-course by Stanford physics faculty on recent fundamental advances in theoretical physics. The winter quarter’s lectures will be by Professor Sean Hartnoll.

Black holes have the remarkable property of irreversibility: if you fall into a black hole you can’t get out (classically). This immediately suggested a connection with the other famous irreversibility in physics: the law of increase of entropy. Since the 70s, this connection between black holes and thermodynamic systems has been fleshed out in increasing detail and has lead to surprising conclusions. I will give an introduction to a recent body of work showing how black holes can in fact be used to shed light on exotic materials of interest in condensed matter physics, including the still-not-understood high temperature superconductors.

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THE LADY ONSTAGE explores the life and work of Olga Knipper, a name unfamiliar to most, but perhaps best known as “Chekhov’s wife”. Olga was a key creative genius in [...]

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THE LADY ONSTAGE explores the life and work of Olga Knipper, a name unfamiliar to most, but perhaps best known as “Chekhov’s wife”. Olga was a key creative genius in the history of modern theatre; she was not only the originator of the leading female roles in Chekhov’s four major plays, but also became the de facto chief representative of the Moscow Art Theater when they toured the United States. THE LADY ONSTAGE takes us into the psyche of an actress at the moment when theater changed forever, giving us an inside perspective on the radical choices artists make in the name of Art and Love.

March’s Rough Reading presents an intimate reading of Erin Bregman’s new play in early draft form, offering audiences a rare opportunity to engage directly with the artistic process of bringing a play to life. Produced by Playwrights Foundation in partnership with the National Center for New Plays at Stanford.